Dudley Reflects
by Crazy-Obsessed-Writer52
Summary: The car ride from number four Privet drive to wherever Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones were taking the Dursleys. Hestia and Dedalus tell Dudley about Harry's accomlishments. Dudley reflects on all the times he was mean to Harry.
1. Chapter 1

Dudley POV Deathly Hallows

Just after the Dursleys leave Privet Drive.

"Why isn't he coming with us?" I asked the man who called himself Dedalus and the woman who called herself Hestia

"Who Harry?" Hestia asked.

"Yes"

"Why, I can't believe you don't know." she said with a shake of her head. "Well when Harry was just a baby, on Halloween he was attacked by a dark wizard. This dark wizard wanted to kill Harry. He killed Lily and James but for some reason couldn't kill Harry. He was destroyed that night."

"But then how come we are leaving?" I asked, confused.

"I'm getting to that!" she said a little bit impatiently.

"Sorry" I said. I looked over at my parents. My dad was driving, looking straight ahead, and grinding his teeth. My mother was looking down, trying to pretend she wasn't listening.

"In Harry's first year of Hogwarts," Hestia continued, "Harry was attacked by a teacher at his school that was being possessed by the bit of the You Know Who that was left."

"Who's this You Know Who person?" I asked

"The dark wizard" Dedalus said.

"Why can't you say his name?" I questioned

"Because people are scared to say his name" Dedalus answered.

"Okay" I said, nodding. "But what does this have to do with why Harry isn't coming with us?"

"I'm getting there!" Hestia said impatiently.

"Okay! Sorry" I apologized.

"So Harry found out and defeated him." Hestia said triumphantly. "But his heroic traits don't end there. In his second year he battled the memory of you know who, who came out of a diary he wrote while at school. Not only that but he battled a basilisk too!"

What's a Basilisk?" I asked

"A huge snake" Dedalus said quietly.

"Anyway," Hestia said, looking annoyed that she had been interrupted again. "Harry came out of that alive. In his third year he had to deal with a so-called mass murderer being after him."

"Of course that was all a load of dung" Dedalus said. "Sirius was not after Harry."

"Of course," Hestia said "Then he had to battle many Dementors at once. You, of course, know what Dementors are."

I shivered at the memory.

"Anyway, Harry managed to save Sirius from being wrongly imprisoned but also managed to save ANOTHER innocent life!"

"Whose?"I asked curiously

" A hippogriff by the name of Buckbeak. Please don't ask what a hippogriff is because it is kind of complicated. Anyways, In his fourth year You Know Who returned, using Harry's blood to make him stronger. Harry was not only forced to witness You Know Who return and watch him kill a close friend of Harry's but had to fight him as well! Imagine fighting one of the most powerful wizards ever known at only fourteen."

"What was the friends name?" I asked, dimly recalling a memory.

"Cedric Diggory" Hestia said softly "Great boy. Was going to do great things. So tragic"

"Oh" I said, suddenly feeling a little bit sick to my stomach. I was remembering taunting him about his sleep talking. I remembered him talking in his sleep _"Don't kill Cedric!" _I remember hearing him and watching him thrash around in his sleep. I didn't understand and made fun of him. "So Harry fought You Know Who..." I said finally. "How did he escape?"

"Well nobody on our side really knows except for Harry," Hestia said "and he rarely talks about his feats. So modest that boy is. So he escaped you know who and went back to Hogwarts where nobody knew what had happened. The next year Harry was considered a freak. He was considered to be unbalanced and dangerous. The ministry was telling everybody that Harry was lying. They didn't want to believe that You Know Who was back. Then Harry went to battle You Know Who again and won again! Finally the ministry believed Harry and he was once again considered a hero. Then Dumbledore left Harry a mission, how to defeat You Know Who. Harry is dropping out of school and going on the mission that Dumbledore left him before he died." Hestia finished triumphantly.

"So Harry is risking his life just to make the world a safer place for all you wizards?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes." Hestia said quietly "And the muggles like you too. You Know Who hates muggles too. He and his followers kill them just for fun."

"Why can't someone else do it?" I wondered

"Harry won't tell anyone why, but he says it has to be him." Dedalus said.

I was quiet. I remembered all the times I had bullied him.

_I was five years old and I was flaunting my new toy dump truck. I saw Harry look enviously at me and turn away quickly._ _I laughed at him_

"_Are you going to cry now little baby?"_ _I taunted._

_It was one of my birthdays and I was playing musical chairs with my friends. I watched as Aunt Marge beat Harry with a walking stick so I would win. I laughed at him and kept encouraging it until he gave up and sat by the tree._

_I was eight and I was playing with my friends. I saw Harry and ran over to grab him. We started beating him up because we were bored._

_I was ten and had my friends hold Harry upside-down while I grabbed the homework that he spent all night finishing. The teacher had said that whoever didn't have it done would get a detention. _

_I was eleven and pushed Harry out of the way to get a better look at the snake._

_I watched and laughed gleefully when dad locked him in his cupboard._

_I was at school. I was threatening anybody who tried to talk to Harry._

_I was fifteen. I was taunting him about sleep talking. _

_Everything was dark. I had bad memories. I was never going to be happy again. Suddenly everything was bright and I dimly recalled being heaved up and brought back to safety. Harry pulled me back to the house. All three-hundred pounds of me._

_I listened as the man who Harry referred to as Professor Dumbledore spoke of how I was mistreated. I didn't understand._

Now as I sat there I realized that I was mistreated. Sure I had everything I wanted but I never had to face the hardships that Harry had to. It was then that I swore I would be a better person. I would not treat my children the way I was treated. I would not let my parents baby me. I would not let dad say anything bad about Harry. If I ever saw Harry again I would tell him that I was sorry. If I ever saw him again. If.


	2. Chapter 2

Dudley POV

During the war.

It was June. We had been in Hestia Jones' house for almost a year. It was not as bad as I was expecting. Hestia had many interesting things that weren't television or computer. I was actually finding books that were interesting. I found myself reading several fascinating books. Although I wasn't bored out of my mind as I had expected, I was still not having fun. This was mostly due to the fact that nobody had any idea where Harry was. I was worried. I never had the chance to fully apologize for what I had done to him. I wanted to see him. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry for what I had done to him. I was sorry for how I let my family treat him. Suddenly, I was yanked out of my thoughts by a sharp rapping on the window. It was an owl. I had grown accustomed to owls knocking on the windows. In time I actually found that I liked them. I opened the window and called:

"Hestia! There is an owl here."

"Really?" she asked, "that's weird. I have already got the Prophet and Quibbler today."

She opened the letter and paled.

"I have to go!" she said worriedly.

"Where?" I asked carefully. It didn't sound good.

"To Hogwarts!' she said as she ran around collecting her things. "You Know Who is coming for Harry!"

"Harry?" I asked stupidly

"Yes." She answered. "Now I'm leaving. Elphias Doge will be here any minute to stay with you people."

"Okay" I said. I was extremely worried..

As Hestia disaparated I was left in the sitting room. I heard my mother come in.

"Who just left Diddykins?" she asked. She too had gotten used to all things magical around here. My father was the only one bitter anymore.

"Hestia." I answered softly. "They are fighting You Know Who at Hogwarts. This could be the end."

"Oh no." she said softly as I filled her in on what had happened.

"What happened?" I heard a voice from the doorway. "Did the freak leave?" It was my father.

"Vernon!" my mother snapped. "They are NOT freaks!"

She walked out of the room. Personally I think their marriage is in jeopardy.

As I attempted to distract myself with A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot I heard a loud crack. Elphias Doge walked in.

"Hey there Dudley." he said.

"Hi Elphias." I said sadly. " What is going on? Did you hear any news from Hogwarts?"

"No. Not yet dear boy." he answered grimly. "What's that you're reading?" He glanced over and saw the cover. "Ah, Bathilda Bagshot. Great woman. So horrible what happened to her."

We talked for a long time. Soon it was bedtime. I couldn't sleep. I was too worried about the going-on at Hogwarts. Finally though I got into a very restless sleep. Very early in the morning I was awoken to shouts of happiness.

"He's gone!" Lord Voldemort is gone!" Hestia cried happily.

"Who is Lord Voldemort?" I asked, confused.

"You Know Who to you." She said with a laugh. "It is okay to say his name now. He's dead!"

"Does that mean we can go home now?" I asked.

"Yes! Of course dear boy!" she cried. "But not before you have a feast."

So we ate. We had a delicious meal. It had some muggle delicacies for us. It also had some wizard foods. Before we left Hestia presented me with an owl, and a huge amount of Bertie Botts every flavour beans, Chocolate Frogs, and Droobles Bubble Gum.

"I must say," Hestia said happily. "Although you aren't wizards I have felt extremely bonded to you. Thank you for educating me on the muggles of the world. I learned loads. I gave you the owl so you can keep in touch."

"Thank you very much" My mother said as she hugged Hestia. My mother was hugging a witch. I could not believe it. My mother hated witches. Wow. I guessed this war had changed everybody.

"So long!" My father said happily. "I hope to never see you again!" he cried.

That was it. I walked up to my father and punched him right in the gut. I bet he wasn't that proud of my boxing succession then. Then of all things that happened, my mother walked up to him and said, "Why did I ever even bother with you? You are rude, disrespectful and on top of all that quite a moron as well. My lawyer will be contacting you. We are getting divorced."

After that mum and I went home. Dad rented an apartment. He never darkened our doorstep again. Although everything was better, it didn't feel quite right. I knew that Harry was all right, that he was a hero. He had defeated Lord Voldemort. I knew he was important and probably was getting thousands of letters a day, but I say down and started writing anyway.

_Dear Harry...._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I know this is a really short chapter but I tried my best to explain Petunia's declaration of divorce. I am going to make their actual meeting in the next chapter. Thank you to everybody who reviewed. It is really helping my writing skills. This is my first story so I am thrilled that it actually got reviews. I didn't actually thin kanybody would read it. So thanks. xoxoxoxo**

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Third Person POV

After the war.

Harry awoke to find an owl at the window. It was holding a letter. Harry was curious. All the fan letters went to Hermione who could quickly sort out the ones she thought Harry should read. Harry opened the window, allowed the owl to come in and opened the letter carefully. He couldn't be sure it wasn't a bad letter. He hadn't forgotten what happened to Hermione in their fourth year.

_Dear Harry,_

_Hey. I can't believe you did it again. I bet you are wondering how I know this. In the car ride to Hestia's house after we left home, Hestia and Dedalus told me about all of your accomplishments. I started thinking and I realized that I was really mean to you. I feel really guilty. I shouldn't have taunted you so much. If I had of treated you like a brother instead of a servant and a personal punching bag, then maybe mum and dad would have treated you a bit better. While we were trapped at Hestia's house mum and dad started arguing a lot. Dad was complaining about how it was all your fault that we were trapped with the freaks and that they should have listened to Aunt Marge and brought you to the orphanage. Mum actually had learned to like Hestia. They got along quite well. Hestia taught mum a lot about magic and mum told Hestia about the muggle world. Anyways, mum and dad were constantly fighting. Dad was extremely annoyed with mum for taking the "Freak's" side. In the end mum got so fed up that she slapped dad and told him that they were getting a divorce. I spent a lot of the time reading some of the books Hestia had in her house. Of course there was not television or computer so books were really the only source of entertainment I had. The pictures in the books are a bit like television. My two favourite books were __Quidditch through the Ages__ and __A History of Magic__. The wars between the goblins and wizards are fascinating. I want to hear about what you were up to for the past year so I was wondering if we could possibly meet. Write back with this owl. I have my own owl. I was so happy. Hestia bought me one so I could keep in touch with the friends I had made in the wizarding world. _

_Sincerely,_

_Dudley_

_P.S. I gave up bullying forever. I don't let anyone call me Big D anymore. (Mum still calls me Didykins though)_

Harry laughed just as Ron and Hermione came into the room, holding hands.

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked, seeing Harry's face.

"Oh nothing." Harry replied. "Just this letter my cousin sent me."

"Let me see mate." Ron said snatching the letter out of Harry's hand.

He and Hermione silently read the letter and looked at Harry.

"Are you going to go?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah" Harry answered. "I should. I really think he has changed."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Okay so this is the final chapter of Dudley Reflects. I didn't expect anybody to read it so this is wonderful if you are.**

**Keep reviewing!**

**xoxoxoxo**

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Harry POV

I knocked on the door of the house I hadn't been to for a year. The house I never truly called home but the place that helped protect me until I came of age. Aunt Petunia answered the door.

"Come in Harry" she said. "I was so worried about you. I never got the chance to really apologize for my behaviour towards you for the past seventeen years. You see I never actually hated you. I was always jealous of my sister. With my parents Lily was always the special one. She was prettier than me, she was smarter than me, then she got the same letter you got and was off to that school. I was at home with my parents constantly worrying about Lily. I was jealous. When she came home I pretended I hated her because it was easier than talking to her and having to hear stories about Hogwarts. Even when she left Hogwarts I didn't talk to her because it had become habit and I had convinced myself that I hated her. Then when you showed up on my doorstep and I saw the eyes of the sister in you I immediately disliked you because you were the constant reminder of the sister I had but pretended I didn't. When we were at Hestia's I learned all the hardships you had endured and felt guilty about how I didn't make it any easier when you came home for the summer."

"Wow Aunt Petunia," I said. It was obvious she had been really wanted to say that for quite some time. "I never thought that was the reason you didn't like me. That is really something different to think about. Thanks."

"Harry!" I heard a familiar voice call. I had never heard it like this though usually it was taunting. It sounded excited and happy.

"Hey, Dud" I answered with a grin. "How is it going?"

"Great! How about you?" he answered excitedly. "Come in! Don't just stand there!" He said without waiting for a reply. It was then that I got a chance to look around. The place was exactly the same. It was spotless and gleaming.

"Sit down!" he gestured towards the chair. "I'll make some tea."

"Wow, Dud. You know how to make tea?" I asked with a grin.

"Yeah. We got home and I decided it was time mum stopped babying me so I asked her to make me do things for myself. That was when I learned how to make tea. But enough about me. What has been going on with you in the past year? I got the Prophet and the Quibbler of course with Hestia but they don't tell you everything."

So I told him. We spent hours talking. I didn't have to explain as much as I thought I would. Hestia seemed to have taught him a lot. I told him everything. Soon It was time for me to go.

"That was great Dud. We should do it again sometime. "I said as I was about to leave

"Yeah." He answered. "And bring Ginny, Ron, and Hermione next time."

"Okay. " I answered. "I will send you an owl soon."

And that was how Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter became good friends.

End


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